Panel Backs Later School Start

Fcat Fears Can't Trump Parents' Push

TALLAHASSEE — Responding to an avalanche of parent support, a state House panel on Tuesday agreed that Florida's public schools should shift their starting time to later in the summer.

In a 10-1 vote, the House PreK-12 Committee approved a measure (HB 177) filed by Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, that would prevent the school year from opening any earlier than a week before Labor Day.

Although opposed by state associations representing school boards, superintendents and administrators, legislators said they have heard nothing from local officials who might be against it.

"I've not been contacted by anyone on the local school board about this ... but my e-mail is jammed with people asking me to please do this," said Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, before she voted for the measure.

The House bill has two more committees to get through before it can be considered by the full Legislature, which begins its annual session in early March. The Senate companion bill has not yet been scheduled for its first hearing.

One-third of the state's 67 school districts started this school year during the first week of August, and Seminole County plans to be in session by July 31 for next school year.

While the early start dates may be designed to give students more time to prepare for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, administered in February and March in grades 3 through 10, Gelber said it's a "family unfriendly" policy that interferes with family vacations, out-of-state university enrichment programs and summer jobs for teens.

"The true parental outrage has been simmering," Gelber said. "It's really been in the last few years the majority [of districts] have moved to the beginning of [August]."

To accommodate districts' fears about not having enough time for FCAT preparation, Committee Chairman Ralph Arza, R-Hialeah, said he hopes the Legislature will force the exam later in the school year to give students more time to learn and prepare.

"If you go to a multiple-choice format, you can be looking at taking the test and within seconds have the results," he said.

The test currently contains several sections that require essays or analysis to demonstrate performance.

Linda Kleindienst can be reached at lkleindienst@sun-sentinel.com or 850-224-6214.